KanColle (out now on Blu-ray/DVD!) is one of the biggest game/anime franchise hits in Japan of the past few years, but the concept may be a little unusual for some Western fans—the series features famous real-life Japanese and foreign warships reimagined as cute girls packing serious firepower. That said, the idea of basing anime characters off of Japanese warships is actually nothing new. Here are 5 anime series whose characters are named for famous ships that also appear in KanColle!

Neon Genesis Evangelion

This is probably the most famous series to feature the ship character naming—and certainly it does it the most prominently. Almost all of the major characters are either named for a famous ship, or for a part on a ship.

Rei Ayanami: Named for Ayanami Class Destroyer Ayanami

Shipgirl Ayanami is very sweet and cheerful, in a way that Rei Ayanami is a bit different…

In the Evangelion Rebuild movies, the new Asuka character’s name is Asuka Langley Shikinami, named for Ayanami Class Destroyer Shikinami. It’s interesting that her ship is now in the same class as Rei’s.

Incidentally, Eva Rebuild’s new character Mari Makinami Illustrious is also named for Yuugumo Class Destroyer Makinami and the British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. Yuugumo is implemented in the KanColle game, but Makinami is not as of this writing.

Misato Katsuragi: Named for Unryuu Class Standard Carrier Katsuragi

Ritsuko Akagi: Named for Akagi Class Standard Carrier Akagi

Maya Ibuki: Named for two ships: Takao Class Heavy Cruiser Maya and Ibuki Class Battlecruiser Ibuki (who does not appear in KanColle)

There are a couple other similarly-named characters as well, including some more based on ships that do not appear in KanColle. Many of the other characters are also named for ship parts! For example, protagonist Shinji’s surname “Ikari” means anchor.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

The hyper-logical alien data interface character Yuki Nagato is named for the formidable Nagato Class Battleship Nagato. In KanColle, Nagato is also a rather stoic character. Nagato is a very famous ship—the Pearl Harbor attack was commanded from her bridge, and she had a nuclear weapon dropped on her in revenge as part of an American nuclear test.

Naruto Shippuden

Fans of Naruto Shippuden will also recognize that Nagato is the real name of one of the villain characters, Pain. What you may not also know is that Nagato’s parents are also named after famous Japanese warships—father Ise is named for Ise Class Battleship Ise, and mother Fusou after Fusou Class Battleship Fusou.

Incidentally, Team 7’s temporary leader in Kakashi’s absence, Yamato, shares a name with one of the most famous battleships in Japanese history, Yamato Class Battleship Yamato, but Yamato is not an uncommon name and is also a term associated heavily with Japan, so this may not be a direct reference.

07 Ghost

The Black Hawks, a military organization that features in 07 Ghost, are largely named for famous ships, including the aforementioned Ayanami, Hyuuga, and Katsuragi, as well as Kagerou Class Destroyer Yukikaze.

Others

Finally, of course there’s the anime Arpeggio of Blue Steel, which also features tons of characters based on famous Japanese warships. And of course, Space Battleship Yamato’s namesake ship is named after the famous non-space battleship Yamato!

This Labor Day Weekend, join Tara, Alex, Scott, Tim, and Godswill at San Japan in San Antonio! Join the team for panels, check out our booth deals, or relax in the Funimation Lounge! Check out the details below…

PANELS

Funimation Favorites Panel | Friday, September 1st | 4:00p-5:00p | Room 217Funimation takes a look at some of our personal favorites from current anime and past classics. What’s your Funimation favorite? Share it with us using the hashtag #FunimationFave!

Funimation Industry Panel | Saturday, September 2nd | 1:30p-2:30p | Room 217From Akira to Dragon Ball Z, hear the latest news, info, and announcements from North America’s largest anime distributor—Funimation. Live tweet with us using the hashtag #FunimationPanel for a chance to win prizes!

Funimation Peep Show(18+) | Saturday, September 2nd | 8:00p-9:30p | Room 006Guaranteed to be a good time that’s oh so NSFW. Watch clips and trailers from some of the hottest Funimation titles with host Cookie Stratford. Audience participation encouraged by tweeting using the hashtag #FunimationPeepShow. You could even win some naughty prizes. (18+, Bring your IDs!)

The devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey is enormous and continues to impact people across the Gulf. Funimation is based in Texas, and here we are witnessing neighbors helping neighbors in heroic acts of bravery — we want to help.

We don’t know when the storm will let up, but we do know that right now people are without basic needs. Some have lost everything and people will be affected for years to come.

Funimation is donating $10,000 towards Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. We will also match the first $25,000 raised through this campaign.

Contributing at any level matters. Funds will immediately help the organizations and the people on the ground.

As many fans know, the hype is real for this one, and the moving story and beautiful animation really explain what has made this the highest grossing anime film of all time worldwide. Because of the overwhelming love and passion for this film from you, the fans, we worked closely with our partners in Japan to bring you Your Name. to home video less than 3.5 months after Japanese release—a speed that is rarely beat!

A special film deserves a special home video release, and we wanted to make a limited edition that has a special place on your shelf. Check out these in-depth previews of this collector’s release!

We’re heading to the Santa Clara Convention Center this weekend for the first-ever Crunchyroll Expo! Join Justin & Tara for the panels or stop by our custom photo booth in the exhibits hall. Check out all the details and times below!

From Akira to Dragon Ball Z, hear the latest news, info, and announcements from North America’s largest anime distributor—Funimation. Live tweet with us using the hashtag #FunimationPanel for a chance to win prizes!

Seeking intel on other countries before the dawn of World War II, the Japanese government forms a clandestine spy organization called the “D Agency.” Surpassing its rigorous physical and mental training, eight men obtain the skills needed to live undercover for years at a time. In this recollection of their endeavors, these men will prove just how far they can go in the desolate game of espionage.

Funimation Photo Booth

Stop by the Exhibitor’s Hall and check out the Funimation photo booth for keepsake pictures with your friends this weekend!

The app uses the Xbox One software keyboard. This enables the use of a USB or Bluetooth connected keyboard.

Use the controller to help you get around the app faster with the below shortcuts:
RB and LB skips every 5 items in a list.
b. Pushing LB when at the beginning of a list goes immediately to the end of the list, and pushing RB when at the end of a list goes immediately to the beginning.
c. Pushing RT or LT while on a Shows list sorted alphabetically will skip to the first show beginning with the next letter of the alphabet.
d. Pushing RT or LT while on a list of videos on a Show Detail screen skips to the next or previous season. (You can also move to any season via a Season chooser dropdown.)

You can control the app using the Xbox One Remote. FWD Scan and REV Scan are mapped to RT and LT. Next and Prev are mapped to RB and LB. The only thing that cannot be done with the remote is adding to and removing from Queue.

Easier Navigation

Home – the Home screen helps you start streaming immediately and gives suggestions for what to watch next:
Featured Shows list
b. Continue Watching – a list of your most recently watched shows, so you can pick up where you left off as soon as you load up the app no matter what you were watching on previously.
c. My Queue – the top shows in your Queue. You can control the order of these shows from your account on Funimation.com.
d. Recently Added – a list of the most recent SimulDub and catalog releases. You can access the full list from the Shows screen.
e. Lists of shows from the Action/Adventure, Sci Fi, Fan Service, and Slice of Life genres.

Shows, SimulDubs, and Genres – Browse the SimulDubs, a particular genre, or the full list of shows. Each Shows list screen displays information about each show, including the latest release. You can sort the Show list screens by latest release, show name (A-Z), show name (Z-A) or by popularity.

Search – Search for a show using the Xbox One software keyboard. Search results are presented with other relevant data, including show summary, production year, maturity rating, and highest available video quality.

Show Detail – You’ll be able to immediately begin watching a show from where you left off as soon as the screen is loaded. However, you can also add the show to your Queue, rate it, or browse through the list of episodes or movies. Pushing RT or LT lets you skip to each season!

More Customization

Settings – watch anime your way with the below settings:
Video Quality – Set the video quality to best fit your setup. You can choose from auto, low, medium, or high.
b. Default Language – You can set this to English or Japanese. The app will override this setting appropriately if you watch in multiple languages.
c. Subtitles – Sets the soft subtitles (Japanese Audio), when available, to on or off. This setting is on by default.
d. Closed Captions – Sets the closed captions (English Audio), when available, to on or off. This setting is off by default.
e. Auto-Play (Marathon) – Only available to Premium subscribers. Turn this on to stream episodes in a playlist for up to 3 hours with no interaction.
f. Restrict Mature Content – Restricts access to mature-rated videos. You can only manage this setting from your account at Funimation.com.

Check your subscription plan and account info, read the terms of service and privacy policy, and get a description of the app and the version number.

Help – Look to the controller guide for tricks on navigating and controlling the app, but there is also a legend at the bottom of each screen. You can also refer to the FAQ for other information.
Video Player

Xbox One Remote Support! In addition to the Xbox One buttons on the remote, you can use the video playback buttons on the remote to control the player. Pushing Stop will exit the player immediately, even when the controls are displayed. The only thing that can’t be done from the remote is adding to or removing from Queue. See the below control table.

Player Controls:

Clearer Video, Less Buffering
a. The video quality is automatically adjusted based on your internet connection download speed to avoid buffering during playback.
b. The video player will resume from where you left off (per language/version) and will restart a video automatically if you’ve already finished it.
c. The video player controls will automatically appear during the first couple seconds of playback and then disappear. You can bring up the UI by pushing the directional buttons. The UI will disappear on its own after a few seconds, including when it is paused, if you stop interacting with it, but you can dismiss it manually by pushing B.

Relevant data for the video you are watching is displayed, including language and version.
e. If you have Auto-Play (Marathon) enabled, a 10-second countdown will appear after the end of the video, and then the player will automatically begin playing the next video. Marathoning will stop and the player will automatically exit if the next video is not the same language and version as what you just watched, when it has finished the last sequential video, or when it has been 3 hours without interaction from you.
f. If the video has soft subtitles or closed captions, and you bring up the video player controls, the soft subtitles or closed captions will jump out of the way, so you can still read them.
g. The look of the closed captions and soft subtitles can be managed from the Xbox One settings.

Player Options
Change the language
b. Turn the soft subtitles or closed captions on and off (when available)
c. Rate the video

Loving the new features? Let us know here! Try out the new app, and let us know what you think! There’s a world of anime waiting to be watched.

We are excited to announce that the upcoming One Piece TV special, Episode of East Blue, will simulcast for US & Canadian subscribers on FunimationNow this weekend on August 28th, 2017 at 12am PST!

Episode info

“Episode of East Blue”

Runtime: 106min

The words that Gold Roger, the King of the Pirates, uttered just before his death excited the masses and the world has entered a Great Pirate Era! There is a group of young pirates who are about to set sail on the Grand Line. Monkey D. Luffy, a rubber man. Roronoa Zoro aka “Pirate Hunter.” Usopp, a sniper. Sanji, a seafaring cook. And “Cat Burglar” Nami. They, the Straw Hats, all place a foot upon a barrel and make their vows before their next journey across the great ocean. Luffy shouts “In order to be the King of the Pirates!”

A decade ago in the Windmill Village…

A little boy Luffy was enthralled with a pirate boss Red-Haired Shanks. But a group of mountain bandits shows up and makes fun of the pirates. “Why didn’t you fight them?!” Luffy yells out angrily but Shanks says that it’s nothing worth getting mad over. At that time, Luffy snatches the Gum-Gum Fruit from a treasure box and eats it and as a result, his entire body becomes rubber and he loses the ability to swim for the rest of his life!

A few days later, Luffy is surrounded by the mountain bandits again and Shanks comes to help. “No matter what the reason, anyone who hurts my friends has to pay!!”

Shanks and his pirate crew are incredibly strong and they beat down the mountain bandits. Higuma, the head of the mountain bandits, runs away kidnapping Luffy and heads for the sea. However, they encounter a local Sea Monster there and are attacked. Luffy is in a desperate situation… But again, Shanks saves the day. He outstares the Sea Monster and chases it away but in exchange, he loses his left arm…

When Shanks leaves the village, he leaves his straw hat with Luffy.

“Come bring it back to me someday! Once you’ve become a great pirate!”

10 years later, Luffy has grown up strong and he sets out for an adventure on a small boat. He again encounters the local Sea Monster for that fateful day. However, Luffy takes it down with a single blow of Gum-Gum Pistol. Luffy’s journey to become the King of the Pirates now begins!

Funimation stays home in the heart of Texas this weekend for AnimeFest 2017. It’s been a crazy few months, and our team is excited to hang out and have fun with everyone! Check out the different panels and activities we have going on this weekend!

Guaranteed to be a good time that’s oh so NSFW. Watch clips and trailers from some of the hottest Funimation titles with host Cookie Stratford. Audience participation encouraged by tweeting using the hashtag #FunimationPeepShow. You could even win some naughty prizes. (18+, Bring your IDs!)

From Akira to Dragon Ball Z, hear the latest news, info, and announcements from North America’s largest anime distributor—Funimation. Live tweet with us using the hashtag #FunimationPanel for a chance to win prizes!

What’s an anime convention weekend without a trip to the exhibit hall? This year, we’re switching things up with a special booth!

SEE YOU THERE!

November 2017 will make you thankful for all the hits that are coming out! The highest grossing anime in the world, Your Name., is coming to Blu-ray in both English and Japanese. We’re also packing more into our sets such as the complete series of The Future Diary and Rosario + Vampire and new limited edition sets like Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans and 91 Days. Check out the full list of titles below:

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